CHAPTER IV.
“Star of the brave! whose beam hath shed
Such glory o’er the quick and dead;
Thou radiant and adored deceit!
Which millions rushed in arms to greet;
Wild meteor of immortal birth!
Why rise in Heaven to set on Earth?”
INTRODUCTION—EARLY HISTORY—THE RESTORATION—TIMES
OF THE STUARTS—THE REVOLUTION—1660–1688.
The very name of “Guards” inspires the idea of all that is militarily splendid and excellent, great and glorious, noble and brave, faithful and loyal; and awakens in our minds a host of most interesting and exciting recollections. Guards are peculiarly a monarchical and despotic institution, having no real existence in a Republic or similar form of government. We would esteem this force as a chosen band of faithful, stalwart, and splendidly-equipped soldiers, specially charged with the defence of the throne, and calculated, by their imposing array, to add lustre and dignity to the Crown. Apart from this holiday display, the history of Guards is pre-eminently distinguished by the most splendid achievements of heroism and devotion. Their firmness and fidelity have alike rebuked the arrogance of the nobles who insulted, and stilled the turbulence of the people who challenged, the prerogative of the Crown. Nay, more, when the avalanche of revolution, descending, overthrew the tottering throne, having enjoyed the smile, unshaken, the Guards encountered the frowning of fortune; whilst fond memory bids us trace the footprints of their greatness.
But the great Napoleon had a truer conception of what such a corps ought to be, in the constitution of his Imperial Guard, which at one time amounted to upwards of 100,000 of the best troops in the world. Selected not merely for fidelity or display, each one was a veteran, who, passing through the fires of battle and inured to war, had won by his valour the right to a place in the ranks of “the Brave.” No wonder that Europe trembled when the bearskin of the Guard was recognised amongst the number of her foes; no marvel that the charm of invincibility should so long be enjoyed by this phalanx of warriors, and the halo of victory rest upon their brows.
Romance presents no scene more deeply touching than is recorded in the page of history, when, amid the crumbling ruins of his colossal empire—under the eye and directed by the transcendent genius of their beloved chief, which never on any occasion shone forth more conspicuously—the shattered remnant of the French Guards, faithful amid the faithless, with unmurmuring constancy and heroic devotion, withstood, all but alone, the attack of allied Europe; dealing out the same terrible blows as of old, which, were it possible, must have rescued their country from the countless hosts which already desecrated her plains. But the closing scene was postponed for an after year, when France once more marshalled around the Guard, and Napoleon cast the fatal die for empire or ruin. What Austria, Russia, Prussia, nay, banded Europe, had failed to do, our British soldiers achieved. The spell was broken, as the Guard was overthrown. Noble and brave, ever commanding our respect in their life, they were doubly so in their death. We cannot help according this tribute to so brave a foe. Nay, we feel honoured as, regarding their grave on the plains of Waterloo, we shed a tear for the worthy representative of the Guard; and, lingering beside the relics of “the mighty dead,” we catch the meaning of their watchword—
“The Guard dies, but never surrenders.”
Guards claim to be of a very ancient origin. Perhaps the earliest record of such a force is to be found in the Bible, where—in times of the tyranny of Saul, first king of Israel, 1093 B.C.—we read “the goodliest of the young men” (1 Sam. viii. 11–16; xiv. 52) “were chosen” for himself, and “their hearts touched” (1 Sam. x. 26), so that “they followed him” as a guard. Notwithstanding this ill-omened inauguration, Guards have been perpetuated, and embraced in the military institutions of the several States which successively attained the dominion of the known world, especially where victorious ambition induced them to reject the simplicity of the Republic and adopt the glitter and the pomp of Imperialism. In despotic monarchies, princes have generally selected their Guards from foreigners, as less likely to be affected by the political struggles which from time to time agitated the nation and threatened the security of the throne. The Guard thus selected frequently included exiles of rank—of noble, nay, royal blood. To the Protestant refugees, which the persecutions of the Church of Rome had expatriated, the Guard presented a very general, an honourable, and a secure retreat. These, as well as the chivalrous and adventurous spirit of Scotsmen, are foremost amongst the many causes which have led our countrymen to enlist as the Guard in nearly every State in Europe.
Coming nearer home, and more immediately to our text, we find, in England, that Henry VII., in 1485, raised a bodyguard of 50 men, afterwards increased to 200, and styled it the “Yeomen of the Guard.” In 1550, Edward VI. added a corps of Horse Guards; whilst, in Scotland, at a very early period, “the Archers of the Guard” surrounded and upheld the Sovereign.
LORD CLYDE, COLONEL OF THE COLDSTREAM GUARDS.
The Guards of the present British army, comprised in three regiments—the first of which containing three, and the others two battalions each—were raised about the year of the Restoration, 1660. The union, and consequent intermixture of the peoples of the two, nay, of the three nations, has so assimilated the composition of our regiments, that, whatever may have been their origin, it is exceedingly difficult now to discover aught of the ancient landmarks—national or county—which once characterised them. Still, it is our business, in the present undertaking, to trace these originals, and do justice to the land, whichever it be, that, in earlier years, contributed its mite to lay the foundation of the present renown of our army.
From the intimate way in which our Guards have always been associated in duty and a brilliant career of honour, we have preferred briefly to sketch their history together, rather than separately and severally. In such a narrative as we have entered upon, it is scarcely possible to avoid repetition, many of the regiments having seen the same service. It must therefore be admitted as a necessary evil; we only trust the good old story of our nation’s glory will not suffer by being twice told.
The Coldstream, or Second Regiment of Guards—which, although second in the Army List, is nevertheless the senior—was raised by General Monk (afterwards Duke of Albemarle) about the year 1650. They were principally formed from Fenwick’s and Hesellrigg’s Regiments, and took their name from their having proceeded from Coldstream on their famous march to restore the “Merry Monarch!” Born during a time of war, they were early initiated into its bloody toils. They formed part of the army of General Monk, which, in name of Oliver Cromwell, subdued and occupied Scotland. With the Scottish army, they marched into England in 1660, were quartered in London, and there effectually helped to maintain peace between the factions of the Parliament and army, which then struggled for the dominion of the State—vacant by the death of the Protectorate. Ultimately, the intrigue of General Monk effected the present deliverance of the country from the disorders which distracted Government, by the restoration of the monarchy in the person of Charles II. On the disbandment of the army, Charles, grateful for the good offices of Monk, retained his—the Coldstream—regiment in his own service. The alarm attending the insurrection of Venner, in 1660—a fanatic preacher, who was ultimately overpowered, and his followers, about thirty in number, nearly all slain—presented a favourable opportunity, which the King was not slow to improve, for insisting upon Parliament granting him leave to raise money to maintain an additional military force for his own and the nation’s safeguard. The result was the formation of a chosen body of troops, chiefly composed of Jacobite gentlemen who had shared with him the vicissitudes of exile, and so constituted the First, or Grenadier Guards, under Colonel Russell. Two years later, 1662, the resistance which the unreasonable demands of the King upon the Scottish Presbyterians stirred up, induced the formation in Scotland, amongst other troops, of a regiment of Scots Foot Guards—the Scots Fusilier, or Third Regiment of Guards—the command being conferred on the Earl of Linlithgow.
Whilst a small body of the Guards were hotly engaged on the shores of Africa, heroically defending against the Moors the fortress of Tangier—the profitless dowry of the Queen of Charles II.—the main body of the Grenadiers and Coldstreams, or, as they were then called, the First and Second Regiments of Guards, were employed at home sustaining the tottering throne of the monarch. Failing to profit by the lessons which a recent adversity were so well fitted to teach, Charles, like the rest of his unhappy race, devoted to his own indulgence, plunged heedlessly into all the excesses of folly and passion. Casting aside or neglecting the cares of his kingdom, so far at least as they interfered with his own gratification, he consigned to creatures of his pleasure, to the bigotry of fawning Jesuits, or the blind fanaticism of a cruel brother (the Duke of York) the interests, the business, and the duties of royalty. Amid such dissoluteness and misrule, the Guards, whilst fulfilling their duty, must ofttimes have been forced to witness the dark intrigues of a licentious court; nay, more, they were frequently called to obey officers who had obtained commissions from their having ministered discreditably to the passionate appetites of superiors, or as being the fruit of some unhallowed intercourse. Their duty, too, required they should guard not merely the Sovereign of a great nation, but his seraglio—the abandoned crowd who, dishonouring themselves, dishonoured their sex, preyed upon the honour of the nation, with undisguised effrontery daily glittered in finery, and disgraced the palaces of royalty by their presence. Gladly might the brave and honourable soldier welcome a respite from such irksome duties and the influences of such evil examples on the field of battle; but these were times of comparative peace. It was not until Charles had sunk into the grave, the victim of his own indulgence, and his brother, the Duke of York, had ascended the throne as James II., that the peace was disturbed—and then but for a moment—by the pretensions and rebellion of Monmouth, speedily terminated by the battle of Sedgemoor, in 1685. During the reign of James II., who departed not from the evil ways of his brother, but added injustice and cruelty to the lengthy catalogue of royal iniquities, only one incident would we notice as belonging to the history of the Coldstreams, and as emphatically declaring how far even these stood apart from the sins of the age. James had committed to the Tower the Archbishop of Canterbury and other six bishops, who dared respectfully to remonstrate with the King on behalf of their Protestant brethren, injured by the pretensions of the Roman Catholics. Faithful to their duty, the Coldstreams nevertheless received these martyrs to their ancient faith with every token of respect and reverence. From the heart of many a soldier ascended the prayer, and from his eye dropped the dewy tear, as he guarded the gloomy dungeons of their prison.
At length, when the cup of royal iniquity was full to overflowing, when the follies and cruelties of the race of Stuart had alienated the affections of an otherwise loyal people, then the oppressed, called to arms, with one voice drove the last and worst representative of that unfortunate family from the throne. Then, even then, when all else failed him, even his own children—the Duke of Grafton, Colonel of the Grenadier Guards, deserting—the Guards, the Coldstreams, remained faithful, and with their Colonel, Lord Craven (appointed on the death of Monk, in 1670), at their head, refused to give place to the stranger. Nor did they forsake the unhappy prince, or for a moment belie their allegiance to him, until his pusillanimous flight had rendered their services no longer of advantage to him. Then only did they make their peace with the new Sovereign—William, Prince of Orange. Respecting their constancy to the fallen monarch, and recognising the Guards to be men of worth, the Prince—now the King—retained their services, nor hesitated to confide his own person to their keeping, as the faithful body-guard of a constitutional throne.
Aware that an officer, well versed in military histories, and to whose kindness we are largely indebted for much valuable information embraced in this compilation, is now preparing the annals of the Guards, in separate volumes, we forbear saying more of the Grenadiers and Coldstreams, esteeming the history of the Scots Fusilier Guards sufficient for the purposes of our present undertaking, as being the one regiment of the three undoubtedly Scottish.